Because of its position, Hallstatt could only be reached by boat (or by using narrow, difficult mountain trails) for a long time. At the end of the 19th century a road was built. Despite this, even in the Neolithic people might have lived there. This is because there is a lot of natural salt there. In 1846, Johann Georg Ramsauer (a salt miner) found a cemetery from the neolithic age just above the village. A cultural epoch in Europe is named after this. It is called Hallstatt culture. Other finds in the region include a Shoe-last celt (a special kind of wedge, probably used to treat wood). A blacksmith site has also been excavatzed.